136 Kkarti and, A Study of Birds at Breeding Time. [voKXXXli. 



which the nest belongs. Various opinions have been expressed 

 as to how the ducks transfer their broods from their nest to 

 the water, but I think there is very little doubt that the parent 

 bird either carries them in her bill, one at a time, to the pool, 

 or else conveys them to the ground, and then, when all are 

 down, just calls them after her until they walk to the water. 



Of course, it is known that birds have many enemies to 

 contend with at breeding time, and so they resort to various 

 methods of guarding their eggs. The Grebes (Podiceps), which 

 make a floating nest amongst the aquatic plants, cover their 

 eggs with a quantity of the vegetable matter in the vicinity, 

 so that the eggs, which are white when first laid, soon become 

 so stained that they are often nearly black before hatching. 

 The little Black-fronted Dottrel. /Egialitis nigrifrons, which 

 lays its eggs on the bare ground near water, generally plasters 

 them over with mud before wandering in search of food. This 

 so successfully disguises them that I have stood for some time 

 within a few feet of a nest before discovering it. 



There are many birds of whose nesting habits but little has 

 been published, and my chief motive for penning the foregoing 

 lines is to direct some of our members to a field in which much 

 useful work may yet be done. 



The Late Dr. Hall. — A limited number of copies of the 



plate in this issue have been printed on large paper suitable foi 

 framing, and can be obtained from Mr. J. A. Kershaw. F.E.S., 

 National Museum, Melbourne, at one shilling each. 



Recent Losses. — We regret to have to record the death 

 recently of Mr. H. Andrews, of " Grosvenor," Malvern, who, 

 though unknown to the present generation oi members, has 

 n a 1 onsistenl supporter oi the Club for many years, having 

 been elected so long ago as August, [885. There also passed 

 away, on 28th Decembei last, Mr. S. W. Fulton, oi Armadale, 

 who for several years was .1 prominenl membei ol the Club, and 

 from 1902 to [906 held the position oi librarian. His/orfewas 

 marine 1 rusta< ea, <m whi< h he contributed several notes to the 

 Naturalist. 



A Visiting Nai uralist. — The return to Vii toria on furlough 

 ol Mr. Gerald F. Hill, F.E.S., Governmenl Entomologist oi the 

 Northern Territory, and a membei of the Club, affords us the 

 opportunity ol congratulating him on the excelleni work he is 

 doing with regard to the mosquitoes and other pests of thai pari 

 oi Australia, .1- evidenced by the appendix to the lasi annual 

 report of the Administratot oi 'lie I erritory. Mr. Hill, it maybi 

 remarked, was one ol the earliest junioi members oi the Club, 

 and some twenty years ago carried off several prizes offered by 

 the < I'll, for natural history collections by juniors. 



